Tabular List of ICD-10-GM

The core of ICD-10-GM is the Tabular List of inclusions and four-character subcategories ("Vierstelllige ausführliche Systematik VAS"), i.e. the hierarchically ordered list of codes, in addition encoding instructions in the preface and a commentary on the respective version of ICD-10-GM. It also contains information about the morphology of neoplasms and an appendix with some assessment procedures for the documentation of functional impairments. The free-of-charge reference version (PDF) and the online version contain the complete Tabular List with all additional files. Metadata and crosswalk tables are published separately.
Additionally to the Tabular List the Alphabetical Index is published.

Alphabetical Index

Tabular List of inclusions and four-character subcategories (VAS)

The Tabular List of inclusions and four-character subcategories (Vierstelllige ausführliche Systematik VAS) is at the core of ICD-10-GM. In hierarchical order, it contains all three-, four- and five-character categories, subclassifications on the formation of four- or five-character categories as well as all definitions, inclusions and exclusions and other notes, etc.

Structure of the Tabular List

Category and Code

Supplementary information on the Tabular List

In addition to the Tabular List, there is an instruction on encoding and a preface with a commentary on the respective version of ICD-10-GM; it also contains information on morphology of neoplasms,  some assessment procedures for the documentation of functional impairments and critical values of BMI for children and adolescent persons. All supplementary information is also found in the online versions.

ICD-10-GM Online

Commentary and encoding instructions

The commentary provides an overview of the most important changes in the current versions compared to that of the previous year. The encoding instructions provide important information on using ICD-10-GM for encoding. In the print version, commentary and instructions preface the actual Tabular List.

Assessment procedures for the documentation of functional impairments

The appendix to ICD-10-GM contains the brief versions of some assessment procedures for the documentation of functional impairments pertaining to codes U50-U52:

• Barthel Index
• Extended Barthel Index
• Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index according to Schönle
• FIM (Functional Independence Measure™)
• Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE)

Long versions are available for the Barthel Index and the Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index:

Hamburg Manual for classification according to the Barthel Index (in German language) (PDF, 215 kB)

Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index according to Schönle (in German language) (PDF, 853 kB)

Metadata of ICD-10-GM

Metadata for ICD-10-GM contain certain additional information on each ICD-10-GM code that permit certain plausibility tests and statistical grouping also in accordance with ICD-10-WHO special tabulation lists (mortality list, morbidity list). Metadata in machine-readable form are available only in German language from the classifications download centre in the subfolder "Metadaten und Überleitung" (metadata and crosswalks) in the version for the respective year.

Scope and possible applications of the metadata

The metadata are an enhanced excerpt from the four-character Tabular List of ICD-10-GM. The data include all three-, four- and five-character codes with class titles as well as block and chapter headings. The data are correlated to the special list for the tabulation of mortality and morbidity in the appendix to ICD-10-WHO Tabular List (mortality lists, morbidity lists).

For each individual code, it is defined whether

• violations of the gender or age relation are to be treated as an optional or a mandatory error,
• the disease in question is classified as rare in Central Europe (also referred to "exotic") which can basically be treated as an optional error,
• or not it is terminal, i.e. encodable,
• its code is precombined or whether it needs to be generated with the aid of a subclassification list, i.e. postcombined,
• it is to be used for encoding in accordance with § 295 or § 301 SGB V,
• it requires a reference to mandatory medical reporting in accordance with the German Protection against Infection Act (IfSG) and whether the laboratory-exclusion chiffre (IfSG laboratory) of the German Uniform Assessment Standard (EBM) is to be used.

The metadata allow you to

• decode codes,
• group codes for statistics in accordance with ICD-10-GM blocks or chapters or with ICD-10-WHO special tabulation lists,
• check codes for formal correctness and
• check codes against gender and age of patients.

By themselves, these metadata are not suitable for the development of encoding software, because important parts of ICD-10-GM are missing. Useful work with the classification is not possible without the class attributes of inclusions and exclusions and notes on individual codes.

Crosswalks of ICD

The BfArM crosswalk tables match the codes of two successive versions of the classification, in answer to the question: which code of a new version of ICD-10 corresponds to a certain code of a previous version and vice versa. The crosswalk tables are only available in German language under Downloads, subfolder "Metadaten und Überleitung" (Metadata and crosswalk) for the respective version.

Possible applications for classificatory crosswalks

Crosswalks between two classifications or two versions of one classification are always determined by their purpose. A crosswalk for epidemiological timelines looks different from a crosswalk for economic mapping for DRG systems.

The BfArM crosswalks are pure classificatory crosswalks; each code from one version is to be mapped to the code of another version to ensure that the contents of one code are reflected in the other. Such a classificatory crosswalk does not take into account different frequencies or different costs of the diagnoses subsumed under a particular code.

The crosswalk tables make it possible to transcode encoded data to the codes of another version of the classification. Crosswalk tables thus support the continuation of statistical surveys across a version change (timelines).

ICD crosswalk tables

BfArM provides ICD crosswalk tables between different versions of ICD-10-GM (SGB-V), between ICD-10-WHO versions and a crosswalk table between ICD-9-WHO 6.0 and ICD-10-WHO 1.3 revisions. The crosswalk tables are available under Downloads in the subfolder for the respective target version.

Structure of the crosswalk tables

The crosswalk tables consist of three lists:

• list of (old) codes of the source version with associated class titles (in German language)
• list of (new) codes of the target version with associated class titles (in German language)
• list of paired source and target codes

In addition to the code pairs "old code" - "new code", there are also two further columns with information whether the crosswalk from old to new or vice versa can be done automatically or has to be performed manually. The latter is the case, for example, if code differentiation has resulted in more than one target code being available for a source code.

Crosswalk from ICD-9 to ICD-10-WHO

The crosswalk from ICD-9-WHO to ICD-10-WHO is done with the help of the crosswalk table between ICD-9-WHO 6.0 and ICD-10-WHO 1.3, available under Downloads in the folder for the target version 1.3 of ICD-10-WHO.

Crosswalk from ICD-9 to ICD-10-SGB-V

There is no crosswalk from ICD-9 to the SGB-V version of ICD-10.

There are only minor differences between ICD-10-SGB-V version 1.3 and ICD-10-WHO version 1.3: The simplified ICD-10-SGB-V contains only three-character codes for diagnoses that are rare in Central Europe (such as plague: A20.-); the four-character codes have been removed from the systematic index and listed in an appendix. Chapters XX and XXI only include codes required for the purposes of SGB-V.

For that reason, you can proceed as follows:

1. Crosswalk of ICD-9 codes to the codes of ICD-10-WHO version 1.3
2. Check whether this crosswalk involved codes that are no longer included in the SGB-V version: Has the crosswalk involved codes that have been removed from the SGB-V version in the appendix for diagnoses that are rare in Central Europe or codes omitted from Chapters XX and XXI? Crosswalks to such codes require correction and manual assignment to remaining three-character codes of rare diagnoses or appropriate codes for the SGB-V version.
3. After this process, codes originally encoded in accordance with ICD-9 are now available as ICD-10-SGB-V of version 1.3.

A further crosswalk to other SGB or GM versions can then be performed using the crosswalk tables for subsequent versions.

Crosswalk between ICD-9-WHO 6.0 and ICD-10-WHO 1.3

From ICD-10-WHO 1.3 to ICD-10-SGB-V 1.3: Steps of Adaption

Downloads (in German language)